Sung Hwan Kim. Protected by roof and right-hand muscles

This exhibition, organized together with the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, is Sung Hwan Kim's largest solo exhibition in Europe to date and presents complex installations created by the Korean artist, many comprising video and performance works made in musical collaboration with musician and composer David Michael DiGregorio (aka dogr).

The World in Stories

In his works, Sung Hwan Kim (*1975, Seoul) functions as a narrator who engages with layered histories; and employs folklore, myths, gossip and rumors as means of access to his multilayered installations.

Kim weaves together video, music, light, performance, drawing, and sculpture in the exhibition space, building potential for shifting audience perspectives and trajectories by making use of the architectural. The Honolulu-based artist develops a unique narrative approach to themes such as migration and immigration, translation and renewal.

“…[H]ow does one really care about the trouble beyond a national border, let alone the border of one’s skin?” (Sung Hwan Kim)

Kim, as exhibition designer, creates a unique architectural environment for his installations, highlighting in nuanced ways the theme of “borders,” and exploring various states of subjectivity.

Sung Hwan Kim at ZKM

The exhibition »Sung Hwan Kim. Protected by roof and right-hand muscles« surveys Kim's work created over more than two decades: it is his largest solo exhibition to be held in Europe to date. Originally produced for the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, it was first curated by Yolande Zola Zoli van der Heide in collaboration with the artist. A prelude to the exhibition took place at Framer Framed, Amsterdam. The exhibition is financially supported by the Korean Art Management Service (KAMS) in the program Korean Art Abroad. Partner and further venues of the exhibition are ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe and the Bergen Kunsthall, Norway. The exhibition design for the respective venues (including light and sound) is done by the artist in collaboration with David Michael DiGregorio. An accompanying monograph will be published by Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther und Franz König, Cologne in spring 2025, designed by Linda van Deursen and produced in collaboration with the participating institutions.